2024/06/20
Tohoku University
Keio University
Quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals (quasi-1D-vdW) materials, with their unique one-dimensional atomic chain structures, amplify quantum effects and exhibit properties distinct from conventional two-dimensional materials. ZrTe5, in particular, has attracted attention for its properties as a Dirac and Weyl semimetal, its anomalous quantum phenomena, and its high thermoelectric performance. To apply these properties to practical semiconductor devices, a deposition method for large-area ZrTe5 thin films is required.
A research group—comprising Assistant Professor Yi Shuang and Professor Yuji Sudo of the Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University (Prof. Sudo is also affiliated with the Department of Intelligent Device and Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering); Professor Yuta Saito of the Green Crostech Research Center, Green Future Research Organization, Tohoku University; Associate Professor Daisuke Ando of the Department of Intelligent Device and Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University; and Professor Paul Fons of the Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University—has demonstrated the fabrication of large-area ZrTe5 thin films. This was achieved using the sputtering method, common in the semiconductor industry, by utilizing the phase change from an amorphous to a crystalline phase. This phase change resulted in a significant decrease in the thin film's resistivity by four orders of magnitude and a considerable narrowing of the optical bandgap.
This achievement not only deepens the fundamental understanding of one-dimensional materials, including ZrTe5, but also paves the way for the development of a mass-producible manufacturing method.
These findings were published in the materials science journal Journal of Materials Science & Technology on June 8, 2024.
[Highlights]
Developed a technology to fabricate large-area thin films of zirconium telluride (ZrTe5), a representative quasi-one-dimensional van der Waals (quasi-1D-vdW) material composed of weakly bonded atomic chains, using a method distinct from conventional exfoliation.
Discovered that ZrTe5 thin films exhibit significant changes in their electrical and optical properties when undergoing a phase change from an amorphous to a crystalline state.
The development of quasi-1D-vdW thin films is expected to help overcome the miniaturization limits of electronic and optical devices.
Please see below for the full press release.